Empty nest, full of life

Dear Cupid,

Happy belated Valentine’s Day — I know it was a busy day for you. Hope all of your arrows found their mark, and that you had some time to enjoy a little “Cupid time” yourself!

We enjoyed a very loving weekend — did you proud! We skipped the whole “hearts & flowers” routine (no offense!) and shared the love at the movies, at Target, and in the kitchen. You know those are some of our favorite things.

We saw “Crazy Heart,” a terrific movie about the transformative power of love — even when that love doesn’t lead where you thought it would. Then we popped over to Target (you remember that’s a romantic spot for us, right?) to buy a rice cooker.

I know, I know, small appliances are NOT traditionally good Valentine’s Day gifts. But this one is. Al had recently mentioned that he liked the idea of a rice cooker — kinda came out of the blue, since he’s not really about cooking. But apparently he IS about rice. (See, no matter how long you’ve been together, there’s always something new to learn!)

I wasn’t initially too interested — I’m quite capable of cooking rice in a pan. But then I thought it might be fun to surprise him with a rice cooker. He comes home late so often that it would be nice to be able to keep his dinner warm.

So on Valentine’s Day morning, when we were making our movie plans, I said, “And let’s stop by Target and pick up a rice cooker.” And we did!

Yesterday, I texted him, “I’m making dinner in our ‘love machine’ tonight.” So you see, your arrow is still working its magic here!